getting a wort chiller!

[PUD]

what's best for a begginer? i don't have any fancy equipment and have been cooling my wort in a sink with ice. god, it takes way to long!! i've seen pictures of people putting copper tubes in their wort(with hose attachments). is that what i need? been looking at morebeer.com for some options..

 

[Blender]

How much are you boiling. When I did 4 gallon boils I could get the temp to drop to 90 in 25 minutes or so in an ice bath. The rest of the temp drop was done with cold water to top up the fermentor. It helps a lot to stir it every few minutes.
What you describe is a wort chiller and you run cold water through the coils and it cools the wort. It is pretty effective as well.

 

[PUD]

i have a small sink and am worried about putting my pot into my bathtub. it's nasty! i've been boiling 2.5 gallons at a time. it took the wort to cool to 90 like 35 minutes easter sunday. i was moving it back and forth every few minutes and i had very little ice. i will try stirring it next time.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

put it in cold water in the sink. Drain the water as it warms and refill with cold. Keep doing that. You can move the water in the sink around to keep the warm water moving away. After a bit add cold again and then add the ice. Stirring is good too as long as you are certian your stirring implement is well sanitized especially after the temp is below 160° F

 

[woosterhoot]

I'm a beginner also and I made one this past weekend and tried it out. All you need to do is go to home depot and buy some copper tubing. I bought 3/8" coil 50 ft. Copper is so expensive right now I couldn't bring myself to get the 1/2" plus im not sure how much it would matter because in theory the water velocity should increase through the smaller diameter tubing (i think). Take the tubing and coil it around something round and make sure you sanitize. I took some of the extra tubing and coiled it up and ran it through a cooler that was filled with ice to get the water as cold as possible. The only different fitting you will need is a fitting to go from your faucet to a hose, that can be found in the faucet section of home depot. I cooled about 3.5 gallons of wort in just over 5 minutes.

 

[PUD]

i think i got a mental picture of that.. thanks!

 

[mykayel]

IMHO, just buy one. I looked at making one and it was going to cost more (since copper is so expensive right now) than it was to buy one. And with morebeer.com offering the free shipping, its worth having one that is bent perfectly and all ready to go. I went ahead and got a 50 ft 1/2" dia tubing (vs the 25' 3/8" tubing) as it wasn't that much more expensive and if I ever go to a 10 gallon batch, it would definately be worth having it instead of having to buy another one. It took about 5 minutes to bring my 5 gallon boil down to 80 degs, it also helps stirring your wort while you are running the chiller.

Here's a bunch of them to choose from: http://morebeer.com/browse.html?category_id=1073&keyword=&x=1&y=1

Your beer is most vulnerable to infection during that intermediate temperature, its well worth having the peice of mind to quickly bring the tempurature down... that and I'm sure it helps develop the cold break better.

 

[Beerrific]

IMHO, just buy one. I looked at making one and it was going to cost more (since copper is so expensive right now) than it was to buy one. And with morebeer.com offering the free shipping, its worth having one that is bent perfectly and all ready to go. I went ahead and got a 50 ft 1/2" dia tubing (vs the 25' 3/8" tubing) as it wasn't that much more expensive and if I ever go to a 10 gallon batch, it would definately be worth having it instead of having to buy another one. It took about 5 minutes to bring my 5 gallon boil down to 80 degs, it also helps stirring your wort while you are running the chiller.

Here's a bunch of them to choose from: http://morebeer.com/browse.html?category_id=1073&keyword=&x=1&y=1

Or if you feel like you could do it well you could make an investment in a contractors pack of tubbing and make a few and sell them on e-bay.


Or you could clean your tub! I cooled 2.5 gallons in the tub with ice water in 10 minutes.

 

[Ryanh1801]

IMHO, just buy one. I looked at making one and it was going to cost more (since copper is so expensive right now) than it was to buy one. And with morebeer.com offering the free shipping, its worth having one that is bent perfectly and all ready to go. I went ahead and got a 50 ft 1/2" dia tubing (vs the 25' 3/8" tubing) as it wasn't that much more expensive and if I ever go to a 10 gallon batch, it would definately be worth having it instead of having to buy another one. It took about 5 minutes to bring my 5 gallon boil down to 80 degs, it also helps stirring your wort while you are running the chiller.

Here's a bunch of them to choose from: http://morebeer.com/browse.html?category_id=1073&keyword=&x=1&y=1

Thanks for the heads up. Just got my order in.

 

[mmmforbiddendonut]

There are threads all over this forum to make an immersion chiller. Here's what I did a couple of days ago:

Parts:
25' 3/8" copper tubing
2 4' lengths 1/2" polyester tubing
sink -> garden hose attachment
Garden hose to a smaller (I don't know size) attachment
Adapter for dishwasher tubing, cut in half (I'll explain)

Bent the copper around a pot that easily fit inside of my brew kettle. Made a bend back up for outflow with the copper. Attached one piece of polyester tubing to each end, one for inflow and one for outflow to sink. Put together all of the adapters. The one cut in half was one that had an inner diameter that somehow fit snugly with the polyester tubing. This is a very half-assed setup, but it has no leaks.
I basically went in the local hardware store (where there are people to talk to) and the guy figured out what I wanted, slapped it together and tested it on the back room sink, and it worked. Cost $28. Does it look pretty? No. Does it work? Oh hell yes.

 

[mmmforbiddendonut]

For some reason My browser sent several requests at once, my apologies, If someone can clear out this and the rest of these, please do.

 

[woosterhoot]

IMHO, just buy one. I looked at making one and it was going to cost more (since copper is so expensive right now) than it was to buy one. And with morebeer.com offering the free shipping, its worth having one that is bent perfectly and all ready to go. I went ahead and got a 50 ft 1/2" dia tubing (vs the 25' 3/8" tubing) as it wasn't that much more expensive and if I ever go to a 10 gallon batch, it would definately be worth having it instead of having to buy another one. It took about 5 minutes to bring my 5 gallon boil down to 80 degs, it also helps stirring your wort while you are running the chiller.

Here's a bunch of them to choose from: http://morebeer.com/browse.html?category_id=1073&keyword=&x=1&y=1

Your beer is most vulnerable to infection during that intermediate temperature, its well worth having the peice of mind to quickly bring the tempurature down... that and I'm sure it helps develop the cold break better.

Looking at the prices of the site you linked you paid twice what the materials are worth. That's typical markup in retail though.

 

[z987k]

There are threads all over this forum to make an immersion chiller. Here's what I did a couple of days ago:

Parts:
25' 3/8" copper tubing
2 4' lengths 1/2" polyester tubing
sink -> garden hose attachment
Garden hose to a smaller (I don't know size) attachment
Adapter for dishwasher tubing, cut in half (I'll explain)

Bent the copper around a pot that easily fit inside of my brew kettle. Made a bend back up for outflow with the copper. Attached one piece of polyester tubing to each end, one for inflow and one for outflow to sink. Put together all of the adapters. The one cut in half was one that had an inner diameter that somehow fit snugly with the polyester tubing. This is a very half-assed setup, but it has no leaks.
I basically went in the local hardware store (where there are people to talk to) and the guy figured out what I wanted, slapped it together and tested it on the back room sink, and it worked. Cost $28. Does it look pretty? No. Does it work? Oh hell yes.

where did you get the copper tubing that cheap? Also what kind did you use? I see there is type L and refrigerator tubing.

 

[Ryanh1801]

I really do not see how you got copper that cheap! Five finger discount?

 

[BierMuncher]

Lowes.

This took about 10 minutes to make.

The flex copper they sell at Lowes is already coiled. I just pulled it out and let it stretch like an accordian.

Think the whole thing with hose and attacehemtns was about $40.00.

 

[z987k]

I'm looking at lowe's website now and 10' of 3/8" is $16.54 50' at $53

 

[BierMuncher]

I'm looking at lowe's website now and 10' of 3/8" is $16.54 50' at $53

Mine was a 25' length.

 

[z987k]

yeah $40 seems about right, which is around $10 cheaper than I've found it online, so I guess it's worth it to build your own, especially if you like to do that sort of thing.

 

[woosterhoot]

the refrigerant tubing is generally more expensive than the soft medium wall tubing. the only difference is that it is comes more clean and has capped ends.

 

[mmmforbiddendonut]

I got the tubing at an Ace Hardware down the street. It was labeled $17.49 for 25' 3/8" tubing. I didn't ask the guys working their silly questions of why the tubing was so cheap, I just paid. I'm guessing it's the soft medium wall variety.

 

[z987k]

yeah, he's not lying: http://www.acehardware.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=copper tubing&origkw=copper tubing&sr=1

everyone head to your local ace hardware and make a wort chiller before they realize they're selling that really cheap.

 

[Ryanh1801]

Crap, I just could not wait. Oh well.

 

[mmmipa80]

Ive also been thinking about making my chiller but I dont wanna risk puncturing the tubing.I did ice in my sink and it cooled pretty fast or it seemed pretty fast.I just may end up buying one.Ebay even has em for a few bucks cheaper but there still expensive.




Sean